The IAB announced the release of Revised Ad Unit and Rich Media Creative Guidelines. By providing the industry with a common minimum set of creative specifications, these revised guidelines help simplify the online ad buying process.

The guidelines:

Address minimum guidelines for common ad formats and sizes such as banners and buttons as well as transitional and various over-the-page units such as floating ads, page take-overs and tear-backs;

Define rich media as separate from basic animated ads by requiring interaction aside from the ability to click-through;

Cover ads delivered into standard web environments including email and static and dynamic web pages; and

“These guidelines expand upon the seminal work begun with the Universal Ad Package and give interactive publishers even more opportunity to provide marketers with innovative solutions that engage consumers,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “Publisher compliance with the IAB guidelines sends a clear signal to marketers that the industry is continuing to simplify the ad-buying process.”

“The IAB Rich Media and Ad Unit Guidelines are vital to developing consistency within our industry, as well as fostering relationships between publishers and clients regarding creative submission and creative acceptance,” said Shell Saras, Creative Services Manager, weather.com. “As an industry, if we focus on adhering to initiatives like these guidelines, marketers and clients will have a creative specification resource that is consistently accepted throughout the marketplace.”

Simultaneous with the release of the guidelines, the IAB launched today a compliance program for interactive publishers who adhere to the Rich Media Creative requirements. Publishers will display an IAB Rich Media Creative Compliance Seal on their websites and will also be listed on the IAB website. To date, 32 companies are already compliant with the guidelines. For a complete list of those companies, go to: www.iab.net/Rich_Media_Compliant.